When I Get You Alone
by gallifrey calls now
Summary: In which Kurt takes Jeremiah's place at the Gap. And Blaine serenades him. Kurt is less than pleased, but maybe he's also just a wee bit flattered. Klaine AU


When I Get You Alone

Summary: In which Kurt takes Jeremiah's place at the Gap. And Blaine serenades him. Kurt is less than pleased, but maybe he's also just a wee bit flattered.

The Gap was never Kurt Hummel's ideal workplace, especially as a part-time job during his junior year of high school. But times were hard, and Hummel's Tire and Lube didn't bring much income anymore. That was the Hudson-Hummel's only source of money, as well as Carole's job as a nurse, but both were rather low-income. So both Finn and Kurt got jobs: Finn resumed at Sheets'n'Things and Kurt got hired at the Gap.

He hated every single moment of it.

Sure, he was surrounded by other, far better shops (and his coffee supply, Starbucks, was right across the Gap, thank Gaga), but all the "high-quality" shirts were actually polystyrene and every single time he had to fold one of those otherwise aesthetically pleasing v-necks his skin crawled and he shivered in disgust.

It didn't actually get any better. In fact, if possible, it got worse. The original manager who hired him was a kind 30-year-old by the name of Mandy who didn't actually give a flying fuck he was gay. The only thing she cared about was the quality of folded clothes.

Things went down when James was hired. The man was borderline homophobic, hand an unpleasant nasally voice and absolutely detested Kurt, who refused to wear the Gap-issued shirts. When Kurt outed himself, he half-expected the man to grow angry and fire him immediately. James, instead, flared his nostrils and gritted his teeth, before ordering him to get back to work. Kurt was actually disappointed in the man. He kind of wished to be fired and rid himself of any and all memories of the Gap.

That was around the time he met Blaine. He had been moping around the store, folding sweaters (because, apparently, that was the only thing he was supposed to do around there… that and be generally unpleasant to everyday customers), when the boy, about his age, bounded up to him with the brightest smile on his face and a pair of socks in his hand.

"Hi," he greeted. "Excuse me, but, how much are these?" 

"They're tagged," Kurt replied blandly, gently prying the article from the boy's hand and turning it around. "See. 3,99. Also, you can get a free pair if you buy 34,99 dollars worth of clothing." 

"Oh," he said, reddening slightly. "Okay. Um. Thanks." 

"The counter's that way," Kurt responded, fully aware he was being overly annoying.

"Thanks," the blazer-clad boy repeated, retrieving the pair of socks. "…See you, I guess."

Kurt smiled pleasantly. He'd recently discovered his usual toothless smile unnerved some people. As the boy was leaving, he muttered to himself, "I doubt it."

So it seemed the teen hadn't purchased the socks after all. Kurt shrugged and moved on, figuring he would probably never step foot in that particular Gap ever again. It was okay. Less idiots for Kurt to deal with.

And it had been true. Kurt didn't see the boy again. At least, at the Gap.

"And now, the Dalton Academy Warblers!" 

Nope, not at the Gap at all. At Sectionals. Where they were singing "Hey Soul Sister".

Kurt groaned.

If he was being honest to himself, Kurt rather disliked the Warbler. He was too charming, too short, too gelled. His dislike grew some more when he realized the boy was the Rachel Berry of the Warblers. Rachel's bitching didn't help with his growing irritation either.

He had happily put the Warblers out of his mind for a few weeks, even though they tied, and had been doing a damn fine job doing so, too. Until the holidays came around and Kurt found himself having to take care of the five boisterous blazer-clad teenagers causing a commotion in the menswear section.

Plastering another pleasant smile on his face and engaging his "bitch-please-I'm-fabulous" glare, Kurt approached them, hands clasped in front of him. "Is there a problem, gentlemen?"

"No, I'm sorry, miss, we'll-" the Asian boy turned around and paled at the sight of – the very male's – glare. "Um. Sir."

Kurt's fake smile dimmed a little and his eyes seemed to glare even sharper. "Please exit this store. Immediately."

"What? Why?" the blonde one demanded.

"You're causing a ruckus in here, buddy. We've received complaints. You're disrupting the other customers.

The blonde one scoffed. "It's because we're gay, right?" He gestured at the boy who was scowling and holding his hand tightly.

Kurt's eyebrows nearly took off as he spied the interlocked hands of the two. "Actually, I've honestly just now noticed. You still have to leave the store though. The complaints are still valid." 

As the boy scoffed, Kurt couldn't resist adding, "But just so you know? I'm gay myself, so you don't need to worry about idiotic, mindless prejudice – from me." Turning his eyes to the Asian boy, he noticed the lead Warbler standing awkwardly behind them. Meeting Kurt's eyes, he smiled, unsure.

Kurt scowled. "Also, you guys call yourself a show choir? Please, if you can't tell the difference between a countertenor and a woman you need some serious help. Tying with the New Directions was totally a fluke. We'll cream you guys at Regionals. Now get the hell out of my store."

Generally, Kurt would have been really upset to refer to the Gap as "his store". But it brought a much needed dramatic flair to his accusation.

Kurt didn't wait for an answer. He shot one last pointed look at them before swiveling around and stalking away, stopping only to slap a little girl's hand away from a terrible dress. "It clashes with your skin tone," Kurt explained to the furious mother.

He'd already reached the counter when he heard a sheepish cough behind him. Immediately recognizing the smooth tenor, Kurt huffed in annoyance and turned around.

"Yes?" he drawled.

The lead Warbler was smiling at him, hesitantly holding out a hand. "Hi," he said, "I'm Blaine."

So the mystery boy now had a name. Joy. Kurt still didn't take his hand. "Okay. I asked you to leave."

Hesitation passed briefly through Blaine's eyes, before they steeled, again. "What's your name?" he insisted.

Kurt scowled darkly. "The Fairy Godmother. Now leave the premises, I beg you." 

"That's not your real name."

"You're not very smart, are you?"

Blaine shrugged and smiled disarmingly. Kurt sighed before answering. "Kurt."

Blaine absolutely beamed. "Kurt. Nice. Listen, I wanted to apologize for being disruptive. We're not usually like that – Wes, especially, is far more calm, but, hey, it's almost Christmas."

"That's grand," Kurt deadpanned, "and absolutely fascinating."

"Are you – really part of New Directions?" Blaine asked hesitantly.

"Of course I am," Kurt sniffed self-righteously.

"I-right."

"Are you going to leave, or what?"

Surprisingly, Blaine's cheeks colored slightly at the remark. "Yeah. See ya."

"I would hope not," Kurt replied. "My quota of blazer boys has filled up."

Blaine nodded briefly before hastily walking away.

Kurt let a small smirk cross his lips. Hell yeah. He still had it.

The next week was boring enough for Kurt. Immediately after Christmas, the business was slow as people were too busy patting their bellies to give a rat's ass about some sale at the mall (though food never stopped Kurt). He got a brief, entertaining visit from Brittany and Santana, where Santana was busy being a bitch and Brittany was confused why a store would be named "The Gap" if it didn't actually have any gaps in it.

The week after started similarly, only James the Fugly Manager was yelling at him again when Blaine entered the store.

"AND CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING RIGHT, YOU MUMBLING FAIRY?"

Kurt sighed and checked his watch. Two hours. Two hours and he could leave and watch reruns of America's Next Top Model.

"NO WONDER GOD HATES PEOPLE LIKE YOU!"

_Oh dear sweet Grilled Cheesus, he's bringing God into this._

James huffed at the lack of response and shuffled away, pausing to lovingly stroke a skirt. Kurt tried to hide a shudder. He also tried going to the changing rooms to practice his runway walk in the mirror, when the very, very familiar – and annoying – voice rang out.

"Hi!"

_Oh, sweet Gaga, not him again._

Kurt slowly turned around to face the grinning Warbler, dressed casually in a red sweater with black pants and a colorful bowtie.

"Hi, Kurt," Blaine said, slightly bashful.

"Where's your uniform?" Kurt asked, shocked into speechlessness.

Blaine looked down, confused, before chuckling. "I don't have school today, so… yeah."

"I was under the impression that uniform was glued to your body or something." 

Blaine shrugged. "You get used to it."

"Uh-uh," Kurt replied dryly, looking at the changing rooms mournfully. The runway walk would have to wait. "So what are you doing here?"

Blaine looked fidgety all of a sudden. "Well, I was wondering… would you like to go get some coffee?"

Kurt blinked blankly. _There is no way a boy is asking you to go drink coffee, _he told himself firmly. _No way. _

Blaine was starting to regret his decision of asking Kurt, when Kurt quickly replied with a hasty, "I'm finishing here in two hours," Kurt said with an apologetic expression.

"Oh, I can wait," Blaine brightened up. "Someone's gotta keep you company, right?"

"…Right," Kurt said, turning around. "Well, come on. We'll go to the changing rooms. I have some clothes to clear out."

Kurt didn't see it, but Blaine grinned widely. "Cool." 

X

Roughly five hours later and a worried phone call from his dad, a smiling Kurt Hummel said goodbye to a grinning Blaine Anderson.

And no, Kurt was most definitely not it love with the boy.

Yet.

But he could be, in the future. And it terrified him. He wanted to hate Blaine, but it proved to be almost impossible with the array of jokes Blaine presented him with and his extendable knowledge of Broadway musicals.

Still, Kurt couldn't stop grinning. The not-date had gone wonderfully, and dare he say it, he had fun. A lot of fun. The kind of please-call-me-back-for-a-second-not-date fun.

Blaine, actually, was a really fun guy filled with enthusiasm. Even while sitting down he couldn't stop moving, and the grin had been present on his face from the second Kurt agreed to the not-date.

It was infectious.

As he answered his vibrating phone, Kurt declared to an impatient Mercedes, that: "Baby girl, I think I like someone." 

X

They texted back and forth. Each second where Kurt wasn't helping a customer – and oh, wow, he stopped being unpleasant, how nice – he had his phone in his hand and his fingers deftly picking out letters for the next message.

Blaine, apparently, loved sending properly capitalized messages, with long punchlines. Everyday Blaine would just send some lyrics of some song he was listening, and that day they were the first two lyrics of Katy Perry's Teenage Dream: "You think I'm pretty, without any makeup on. You think I'm funny, when I get the punchline wrong. I know you get me, so I'll let my walls come down, down."

Kurt basically melted into a big puddle of goo right there. Funny how quickly he went from despising the guy to being in love with him.

The second not-date happened two weeks after the first one. Blaine, once again, came to the Gap and pulled him in a hug before dragging him off to Starbucks to drink some sweet sweet mochas.

(Well, Blaine mostly ordered drips, but whatever.)

It had actually been a bit more serious than the first one, simply because both of them came clean with their pasts (and in Kurt's case, their present) and confronted their demons together.

Kurt learned that sometimes you have to have courage.

Blaine learned that courage doesn't mean fighting back, but resisting.

After that – and a quick call from Wes to inquire about Blaine's whereabouts ("I think they'd be lost in life without Nick and I") – they said their goodbyes, they hugged, and Kurt was left there trying to decipher his feelings.

He was sure that about 75% of them were love. 15% was amusement. And the rest 10% was bitterness.

Because he was jealous of Blaine. He wanted the security Blaine had, he wanted to not have to work at that miserable store ever again, he wanted to feel safe and loved. Blaine had it all. Kurt didn't.

But he still loved Blaine.

X

February came. The sales picked up again because, hey, it's the month of love, let's all rub Kurt Hummel the wrong way. It's gonna be fun.

Sadly, Kurt didn't get to see Blaine for awhile. They were both busy with work for Regionals (well, the Warblers were. New Directions were still fooling around), and Kurt was covered all over with homework, Glee-work, Gap-work, housework. Weren't children supposed to not have to do any work? He thought bitterly to himself as he navigated the shelves on Valentine's Day. Stupid holiday. Stupid Gap. Stupid school. Stupid stupid stupid.

"Kurt?" Jane, one of the other workers asked. "Kurt, remember the blazer-boy?"

"Yeah?" Kurt asked tiredly. "What about him?"

"He and his ginormous group of boys have shown up."

Kurt groaned. No, not today. Please. As much as he loved the boy, he couldn't bear looking at him knowing Blaine would never love him back.

As he made his way to the front, he began seeing all sorts of blazer-clad teens lounging around, trying to appear nonchalant. They were failing. Badly.

All of a sudden, they started singing something that clearly wasn't classical music, especially when Blaine's voice joined them.

And Blaine was looking straight at him.

Baby girl, where you at?  
>Got no strings got men attached.<p>

Can't stop that feeling for long, no

Mmmm

"Oh my God… is he serenading you?" Jane asked, a grin spreading on her face.

But Kurt could only imagine James' reaction. "Oh Grilled Cheesus…" 

You makin' dogs wanna beg,

Breaking them off with your fancy legs.

But they make you feel right at home, now…

"Oh please no," Kurt said, horrified at the song choice.

"Isn't this song about date rape, or something?" Jane cocked her head. "I've never actually heard it before, though. It's got a nice beat to it, though.

"It's certainly not Beethoven's fifth," Kurt replied, his eyes still locked to Blaine, who was advancing on him via shelves and furniture.

"Well," Jane said, patting his shoulder, "as fun as this show is, I have a counter to tend to. Get some, Kurt."

Kurt could barely nod, still focused on the boy he was in love with.

_That boy is serenading me. _

Kurt tried to break eye contact to keep his thoughts in order when he noticed another pair of eyes: Santana's evil glinting ones.

Oh God no.

The song finally ended with a long, drawn out "when I get you alone!" and Blaine finally approached him, adorable smile etched on his face and a pair of socks in his hand. It was like the first time they met all over again.

Except this time, there was a hand on his shoulder that was definitely not Jane's, but James', and he was grinning down at him, and he uttered two words, that were loud and clear in the quiet of the store:

"You're fired." 

X

Blaine vanished as soon as Kurt went to get his things. His face was pale and bangs were in his eyes.

He'd just lost his first job, because Blaine thought it would be a good idea to serenade him with a song about sex.

God dammit, he liked the boy. He loved him, actually. He was over the moon that Blaine would sing to him. But no one messed with Kurt Hummel's life without getting a piece of his mind.

Kurt collapsed on a bench right outside the store, placing his head in his arms and massaging his temples.

Okay, Kurt. Calm down. You got this. You can get another job, maybe at Abercrombie and Fitch, even though that place smells. You will –

"Hey," Blaine's voice sounded from in front of him, and Kurt raised his head, a glare already in place. Blaine grinned hopefully, still adorably oblivious. "Did you like it?"

"I got fired," Kurt replied bluntly.

Blaine's smile dimmed a little. "Yeah… um… sorry about that."

Kurt almost laughed hysterically. "Did I like it? Blaine, would you have liked it if I came into your workplace to sing you an inappropriate sex song after which you got fired?"

Blaine wasn't smiling at all right now. "I'm – I'm sorry."

This time Kurt did laugh hysterically. "I needed that job, Blaine," he said, voice cracking. Blaine looked on helplessly. "I needed that job to provide money. My brother had to get hired too. God dammit…" Kurt closed his eyes.

There was awkward silence for the next few seconds, before Blaine meekly asked, "So… do you like me?"

Kurt's head snapped forward. "Yes Blaine," he admitted. "Yes, I like you." It made his heart warm to see Blaine's face light up like that. But then he remembered he had no job right now. "I also liked my job."

Blaine's face fell right away.

Kurt sighed, feeling sick. He was being too harsh on Blaine. "Look," he said, "I'll give you another chance. Yes, I like you. I really do. But I'm mourning for the loss of my monthly income. If you come up with something by Regionals, then maybe I'll reconsider my decision. But right now, there's nothing between us." 

Kurt leaned forward to press his lips to Blaine's cheek. "It was sweet, that attempt," Kurt said. "But it failed. Happy Valentine's Day, Blaine." He grabbed Blaine's hand briefly, before walking away.

"Wait!" Blaine called. Kurt turned back to look at him, shrugging his jacket on. "Do I really get another chance?"

Kurt smiled at him and texted back. Yeah.

X

New Directions won at Regionals. In a fit of happiness, Kurt attacked Blaine, latching his lips onto his.

Blaine was surprised, but no one could hear him complaining.


End file.
